Door-operating mechanism for dumping-cars.



No. 874,578. PATENTED DEG'.'24, 1907.

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' DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM P0R DUMPINGGA'RS. '1 v APPLIUATION FILED JULY 1. 1907. I.

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,No. 874,578. PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907.

E. I-. DODDS.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMPIN G-GARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULYI. 1907. I y2'sHEETs sHBBjI 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' 'F JIHA N I. nonns, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A'ssIcNon TO THE PULLMAN COMPANY,

' OF CHICAGO, ILLINoIs, A OOR ORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

noon-O ERATI G vIEcHAn si/IFon DUMPING-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. 24, 1907.

' Original appllcationfiled July as. 1905|Seria1 No. 270,993. Divided andthis application filed July I. 1907. 'Serial No. 381,662.

'To all whom it may concern: 1 I

Be it known that I, ETHAN I. DoDDs, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain newand useful.

Improvements in Door-Operating Mechane, ism for Dumping-Cars, of which the following is aispecific-ation; Y

My invention concerns the door actuating devices for dumpingcars, its .ob'ect' being to provide a construction free omchains which are likely to I become kinked and broken, and one which is positive inits' ac- I tion andeasy to operate, the strains on the operating shaft; being substantially balanced or neutralized. Y v

Afurther aim and purpose of my inven- 7 tion is to securely lock-the dumping doors in closed position withbut little if any tendency 1 however, such a lock would ordinarllybe .used and, as is customary, it would be located at the end of'the'c'arJ I [On the accompanying drawings, forming a to open, ev n though none of the usual look-.- ing meansfor preventing the operating shaft from turning fare employed. As a safeguard,

. part of thisspecification, I have illustrated my'new invention, like reference characters 5, 5 by side "stakes-'6, I-sha 'ed incross seceither side thereof.

tion, inter osed between't e side sills and the outer aces of theside walls 7. A hood formed of a pair of inclined lates fits over the center sills 1,1 and 'de ects the 'loadon- The bottom of the car'is composed in part by downwardly-divergent floor plates 19 fastened to the bottomflanges of the center sills '1, 1- and in part by the hinged doors 2 hin edat23 to the sides 7 beneath the side si s 5, and stiffened and strengthened by longitudinal angle bars'24,

riveted thereto. Extended longitudinally of the car. beneath the center sills and rotatable in suitable bearings (not shown) a shaft 2 6,ha.ving fixed thereto an arm 33 with a hubor sleeve-33 surrounding the shaft. This links an neutralize each other. the curved links 35 and 39 by the r the doors are only partiallytransmitted to arm which rotates with the shaft is connected by a straight link 34 with one end of a curved, arcuate, -or substantially semi-circw' .lar link 35 having an internal diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of hub or sleeve 33 The other end of the .curved link 35 is connected to the free edge of one ofthe doors 22 at 37 by a link 36 pivotedto the door and link. Also fastened to the shaft 26 so as'to rotate therewith is an arm 33 having a hub, 33' encircling the shaft, the arms 33'and33 being spaced 180 degrees apart. Arm 33 is connected to the other door 22 at 41 by straight links 38 and and a curved link 39: substantially like parts 34, 35 and 36, except that the curved or arcuatelink 39 isbowed upwardly instead of downwardly so that it may engage, fit over,

and conform to the curvature sf hub 33".v

When the doors are in theiropen position, as indicated in Fig. 1, the straight and curved links occupy the positions shown, andwhen it is desired to'close the doors shaft 26 is rotated by any suitable means (not' shown) in. such a direction that the. arms 33 and 33 move away from the hinges 23 of the dumping doors 22. I

It will be noticedthat the links and 38 are of substantially the same length as arms 33 and 33",whereby as the latter arms rolinks engage the hubs o-the corresponding arms and-rotate therewith until the arms 33 and 33 assume the positions indicated in Fig. 2, in which disposition of the parts the po nts of pivotal connection between-the arms 33 and 33 with their links arc sub stantially in right lines between the axis of the shaft and the pivotal connection of the links with the doors.

It will be noticed that when the doors are in the closed position; with .the load above them "resting thereon, the pull on the curved 39 is very close to the axis of the shaft-2,6," and-these. o posite strains on the shaftare substantia 'ly balanced andv The strains gut upon oads on the arms 33- and 33 fixed to the shaft, the remainder being counteracted and overcome by the'friction between the curved --links and the hubs 33 and 33 over which they fit;

tate and reach a certain osition, the curved Whateverportions of the strains actually reach the arms 33 and 33' have but-little tendency to turn the shaft owing to the fact that the arms are nearly on dead center and the links connected thereto lie close to the shaft. The doors, therefore, are securely locked closed and at the same time there is only small strain .on the shaft either to move it bodily laterally or to turn it in its bearin s.

Io those acquainted with this 'art it will beapparent that as many of these door op; erating mechanisms as is desired or necessary may be used for each pair of doors, and that if the car has a plurality of dumping doors on each side of its center sills each door will be connected to the operating sh .45 t by at least one system of links.

I have herein disclosed a mechanism for opening and closing the dumping doors of a car by which the strains on the doors; although transmitted to the shaft to some extent, are practically balanced and neu tralize'd. Of course, minor modifications may be made in the structure shown and described without departure from my invention as outlined by the appended claims.

This: application is a division of my c'o pending application, Serial No. 270,993, for

metallic ore cars.

I claim:

1. In.a railway car, the combination of a dumping door, and an operatin mechanism therefor including a rotary s aft, an arm fixed thereto and rotatable therewith, a curved link, means connecting one end of said curved link to the door, means connee-ting the'other end of said curved link to said arm, said last-mentioned connecting means and curved link being adapted to embrace said shaft in the closed position of said door, substantially as described.

2. a railway car, the combination of a dum mg door, and an operatin mech- 4 I anism herefor including a rotary s aft, an

arm having a hub or sleeve fastened on said shaft, an arcuate link the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the external diameter of said hub or sleeve, means connecting one end of said arcuate link to said arm, and means joining the other end of said arcuate'link to said door,

said arcuate link during a portion of the clos- 'ing of said door fitting over said hub or sleeve and turning therewith, substantially as described.

3. Ina railway car, the combination of a dumping door, and an operatin mechanism therefor, including a rotary s aft, an

arm fixed thereto. and rotatable therewith, asubstantially semi-circular link, means connecting one end of said semi-circular link to said door, andmeans connecting the other end of said senn' circular link to said arm, said last-mentioned connecting means and link being adapted to embrace said shaft in the closed position of said door with the end of said arm between said shaft and shaft, substantially as described.

5. In arailway car, the combination of a pair of dumping doors, a rotary shaft, and an operating mechanism for each ofv said doors including an arm having a hub or sleeve fastened on'said shaft, an arcuate link, the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the external diameter of said hub or wheel, a link connecting one .end of said arcuate link to said arm and means joining the other end'of said arcuate link to its door, said arcuate link during a portion of the closing of said door fitting over said ,hub or sleeve and turning therewith, said arms projecting in opposite directions from said shaft, substantially as described, p 7 1 6. In a railway car, the. combination of a door, a shaft, an arm fixed to said shaft, and a series of links connecting an end of said arm to said door, said links being adapted to embrace said shaft with the end of said arm substantially in aright line between said shaft and the pivotal'point of attachment of said links to said door when the latter isin closed position, substantially as described.

7. In a railway car, the combination of a pair of dumping ,doors, an operating shaft,a pair of arms fixed to and extended in opposite directions from said shaft, and a series of links connecting an end of each of said arms to its door, said links being adapted to embrace said shaft with the ends of said arms substantially in right lines between said shaft and the pivotal points of attachment of saidlinks to said oors when the latter are in closed position, substantially as described.

, ETHAN I. nouns} g Witnesses: V l

FREDERICK C. GoonWIN, WALTER M. FULLER. 

